The Duke and Duchess of Sussex lost their fourteenth employee over the weekend.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s audio director at Archewell, who has been hired to produce the Duchess’ Spotify podcast Archetypes, has quit after just 18 months, it was said last night.
But her apparent departure is the latest in a string of departures this year alone – and 14 in the past four years.
Web takes a look at the Duke and Duchess’ former staff who have since left.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are said to have lost at least 14 aides since 2018
Rebekah Sananes
Rebecca Sananes – December 2022
According to the Daily Telegraph and US gossip website Page Six, Rebecca Sananes has left Archewell after just 18 months as head of audio.
She was hired to produce Meghan’s Spotify podcast Archetypes in July 2021 but was replaced by media executive Serena Regan.
Whether a second series of Archetypes will be commissioned has not yet been decided.
Mandala Dayani – December 2022
Mandana Dayani stepped down as president of Archewell, the couple’s media empire and charitable foundation, over the weekend.
Mandala Dayani
A spokeswoman for Meghan and Harry said the couple will “take full control of their business”.
With her US media connections, the Iranian-born activist was considered one of the Duke and Duchess’ key advisors. She has been with Archewell for less than 18 months overseeing day to day operations.
In a statement last night, Ashley Hansen, Meghan and Harry’s global press secretary, said Ms Dayani “was an integral part of Archewell and we are grateful for her passion, dedication and leadership”.
Toya Holness – May 2022
Toya Holness, who has a degree in strategic public relations from the University of Southern California, joined the Sussexes in October 2020 and was promoted in March last year to oversee their public relations on both sides of the Atlantic.
Toya Holnes
She has previously been described as “Meghan’s shadow” as she was often spotted in the same style of power suits and Hollywood shades.
The former football player was part of a small group who spoke to Harry and Meghan on a daily basis but are said to have split from the couple, the Sunday Times reports.
She reportedly “wanted out” after realizing she had “a lot of roles to play for the couple,” insiders claimed.
Catherine St Laurent – March 2021
The executive director of Harry and Meghan’s Archewell Foundation, Catherine St-Laurent, stepped down after just a year to take on a “senior advisory” role with the organization.
Catherine St Laurent
Ms St-Laurent assumed the position of Chief of Staff and Managing Director of the Sussexes’ not for profit company in April 2020.
The Canadian mother-of-two was considered “the bright hope to lead her organization.”
It was revealed that Meghan and Harry’s UK PR chief James Holt would be taking on the director’s role instead.
And in a sign of the couple’s growing ventures across the pond, it’s also been announced that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have hired veteran producer Ben Browning to run their film and television company.
Natalie Campbell – June 2020
Natalie Campbell, a diversity activist, was Harry and Meghan’s big hire to run their cherished Sussex Royal charity.
Natalie Campbell
She worked with Meghan on the cookbook Together, which shed light on the Hubb Kitchen, a group that came together to cook fresh meals after the Grenfell Tower fire tragedy.
Poached by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s Royal Foundation in August 2019, she worked for the Sussexes for less than a year before leaving for a new job.
Sara Latham – March 2020
Sara Latham, a former communications director, was among a group of 15 employees who lost their jobs to Megxit.
Sara Latham
She previously worked for Barack Obama and was hired when the Sussexes and Cambridges split.
In his bombshell book Courtiers, Valentine Low writes: “On the back of [colleagues’] I felt that anyone leaving the Sussex team would be best advised to come up with a good excuse. Meghan didn’t like it when she thought it was about her.’
Clara Loughran – March 2020
The 33-year-old New Zealander first worked for the Cambridges, where she met her now husband, public relations manager Nick Loughran.
Samantha Cohen
She was given a key role as the Sussexes’ project manager, overseeing their charity projects and helping with their wedding plans. She lost her job when the couple left for a new life.
Samantha Cohen – October 2019
Cohen, the Queen’s deputy private secretary, planned to leave Buckingham Palace in 2018.
However, she agreed to stay on to guide the Duchess of Sussex through her first few months in the royal family.
As an Australian who joined the Palace press office in 2001, the hard-edged Cohen was respected in royal circles.
Clara Loughran
She left the couple last year as their private secretary to work for the environmental organization Cool Earth.
Amy Pickerill – March 2019
Ms Pickerill had been tipped to become Meghan’s private secretary after Cohen before unexpectedly quitting as key assistant in May 2019.
The former Treasury Press Secretary had played a key role in Harry and Meghan’s tour of Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and Tonga in October 2018 – their first royal tour as a married couple.
Amy Pickerill
Meghan described the loss of her assistant private secretary as “very sad” and sources insisted the split was amicable.
Jason Knauf & Christian Jones – March 2019
Senior communications secretaries Jason Knauf and Christian Jones left to work for the Cambridges.
It was found that Mr Knauf had lodged a formal complaint with Prince William’s private secretary, Simon Case, in October 2018 about the bullying experienced by various members of the household.
The Sussexes have always vehemently denied bullying allegations as a “calculated smear campaign”.
Senior communications secretaries Jason Knauf (left) and Christian Jones (right) left to work for the Cambridges
Melissa Toubati
Protection Officers for Women – January 2019
In January 2019, a royal protection officer also quit her job as Meghan’s top bodyguard.
The officer, who was not named for security reasons, had been head of security for Meghan and Harry for less than a year when she left the role.
A Scotland Yard spokesman said at the time: “It is for personal reasons and has absolutely nothing to do with the Duke or Duchess being very disappointed to lose them.”
Melissa Toubati – November 2018
Deputy Communications Secretary Katrina McKeever
Meghan’s assistant Melissa Toubati left the company after just six months and is said to have quit after the Duchess left her “in tears” with her demands. Meghan denies the claims.
Katrina McKeever – September 2018
Deputy Communications Secretary Katrina McKeever quietly left the press office at Kensington Palace in September 2018.
She has had an important liaison role with Meghan’s family, including her father, Thomas Markle. Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand say in Finding Freedom that McKeever “left a good mark with the Sussexes.”